Author: drockefeller

In Search of the Perfect Bike Fit?

Posted on by drockefeller

I can’t tell you how many serious cyclists I know who spend an astonishing amount of time and money on buying and retrofitting bikes in constant search of the “Perfect Bike Fit” to improve their performance times. In all of this money and time spent on this Holy Grail, you’d think these people might consider first restoring proper function to the most critical component in this equipment equation – their own body. Everyday muscle imbalances, bad movement patterns, joint fixations distort the skeletal framework, making the cyclists’ attempts to ease their pains and improve their performance times a never ending and expensive quest.

Those of us in the athletic performance and functional movement industries already know of the clinical and performance advantages that are gained by restoring optimal mobility and stability to cyclists. It just makes common sense to get these athletes corrected before sending them off to get an expensive and sometimes useless bike fit.

Desk posture

It makes sense that, in the beginning, right after your bike fit it should certainly provide you with a comfortable, pain-free ride. The reason why is simply because your bike now fits your ‘jacked-up’ body. Do you ever wonder why soon (depending on how much you ride) you begin complaining about things like knee irritation, low back stiffness and an increased frequency of headaches particularly on long bumpy rides?

Bike posture

Seriously??? How many times have you heard “well, the problem is improper cleat placement, saddle placement, and other adjustments on the bike?” Or when you tell the bike shop person that your hands get numb and then he sells you a new improved padded glove to relieve pressure on the nerves in your hands…or even better…“your problem is from an improper bike fit and you just need to get an adjustment to reduce the amount of pressure on your arms and hands. We might even need to pick a new handlebar to improve your fit”…Stop throwing away your $$$$!!!!

It’s like my oncology radiologist doc told me when I asked him about alkaline water and whether I should buy a machine or buy it in the store. He responded, “don’t waste your money on the scams. It’s just sodium bicarbonate in regular water. All you have to do is put a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in…” I felt like such a sucker falling into this “fear” trap as he proceeded to give me the recipe for alkaline water to make for about .05$.  I mean, here I was about to spend thousands of dollars on a machine to make this alkaline water for me and the answer was so simple.

Then it hit me today as I looked at my water on my desk. This is EXACTLY what cyclists need to do…stop the insanity and get fixed before you get a bike fit.

Bottom line…without hands on maintenance by a qualified therapist and functional exercise fine-tuning, cyclists will continue to unknowingly reinforce faulty movement patterns that will cause wear and tear on their bodies. When these micro- or macro- traumas occur your body will  then compensate by using an alternative movement pattern.

Bike Postures

Your brain and nervous system learns movement patterns. Doesn’t matter whether these patterns are functionally correct or incorrect. Once this dysfunctional movement is programed in your central nervous system, pain and numbness are often sustained. Soon, all this goes beyond the acute phase and leads to chronic soft tissue and joint pathologies.

So here in lies the rub…what happens when a bike is fitted to a crooked human framework?  I think the answer is as clear as the glass of water on my desk!

Cheers,  Dianne

You’ve been injured? Here’s how your body heals

Posted on by drockefeller

FIRST RULE:  No matter what your injury, the majority of your recovery is dependent on your body healing itself.  It is as simple and as difficult as this.

injured athlete blog

No matter what your injury is, whether it’s a tear or strain or sprain or inflammation, your soft tissue is repaired by your own body. There’s NO exception to the first rule (refer above). The healing process is incredibly complex. And this complex process goes on for a lot longer than you might think. Although your pain may be gone right after a session with me or in a couple of weeks, your body continues to heal itself long after your pain has disappeared.

It is very common for the full healing process to continue for 2 years or longer, even for rather minor injuries.  So, if you’ve had a major surgery like a joint replacement or rotator cuff repair…factor this into your healing equation.

  • If you have a soft tissue injury, your body has to heal itself.
  • Painkillers don’t heal you. Your body heals itself.
  • Drugs don’t heal you. They can fight infection but your body heals the tissue damage itself.
  • Even after surgery, your body has a wound that it has to heal itself.

Whether it’s skin, cartilage, a tendon, a ligament, or a muscle…when we injure ourselves we have typically caused tissue to tear.  Additionally, this injury or wound can affect other areas on the body too such as in movement compensation patterns.

Our body’s ability to heal is truly remarkable. Below is an attempt to explain this very complex process in simpler terms. Understanding what is going on in your body is an important part of taking care of your injury. I hope this explanation will help you to better understand the healing process so you can heal more quickly and completely.

Wound Healing Stages

Stage 1 – Stopping The Bleeding

Immediately upon wounding soft tissue, the fluids (blood, lymph and other fluids) in our body leak from the broken tissue. Almost immediately though, the body springs into action. As soon as the injury occurs, your body starts trying to patch the leaks and contain the damage. Your body quickly builds thin membranes around the injury to stop the bleeding. This is the very start of the healing process.

Depending on the level of your injury, this process can take from a matter of minutes, to hours, to even a few days. Think about how fast the bleeding can stop if you cut your skin. That’s how fast your body reacts to start the healing process.

Stage 2 – Filling The Gap

When an injury occurs, there is a gap left between the two sides of the tissue injury. At first it may be filled with bodily fluids, but it needs to be filled by new tissue. New muscle, skin, tendon, etc. doesn’t grow back right away though. Those special tissues need nerves and blood flow to grow and work properly.

In the case of a tissue injury, your body first fills the gap with a special kind of tissue (Let’s simplify this and called it Type 1 tissue). This is a generic tissue. If the wound is a cut on your skin, then this tissue is the soft pink tissue that you see right after your scab comes off. The same Type 1 tissue fills the gap regardless of what kind of tissue was injured. It’s stronger than the membrane that sealed the injury in the first few hours, but it’s still not that strong.

Type 1 tissue can fill a pretty big gap though. Also, once Type 1 tissue is in place, new capillaries, veins and nerves can grow in and around the new tissue. These systems will be needed for the next steps in tissue injury healing. Type 1 tissue can start forming in as little as 12 hours after your initial injury, but it really does most of its growing between 4 and 24 days after you initially injure yourself. By the end of this stage of healing you likely feel little to no more pain and your injured body is at about 50% of its original strength.

Stage 3 – Shrinking The Gap

After you have new blood flow and nerves in the area, a new Type 2 tissue replace the Type 1. With access to proper nutrients from a regular blood supply, this Type 2 tissue is much stronger than its predecessor. Type 2 bonds tightly to the ends of your wound and over time acts like a tightening muscle and pulls the edges of your tissue injury together. This closes the injury area, making it smaller.

As Type 2 tissue pulls your injury together, you see this as the scar shrinking or fading. If the injury is under your skin, the exact same thing is happening, you’re just not seeing it. During stage 3, your injury site is at about 70% of the strength it was before the injury.

Type 2 tissue has less stretch than the final tissue. After all, its purpose is to pull the surrounding tissue together not stretch. This shrinking stage typically occurs between 3 months to 1 year after the time of the original injury. During this time people think they have healed, even though the process is still NOT complete.

Stage 4 – Pliable Tissue Returns 

Finally, after the tissue injury has shrunk as much as possible, your body replaces the Type 2 tissue with original tissue type that was first injured. Only now does new skin, ligament, tendon, muscle, or cartilage grow. It is after your body replaces the Type 2 tissue with original cells that your tissue injury is considered fully healed. Only NOW does it regain the same kind of functionality that it once had. This stage can be 1 to 2 years after the original injury though. This is the stage where the scar on your skin would seem to disappear entirely. The new tissue isn’t perfect though. The lines of growth probably don’t line up perfectly with the lines the old tissue took, so it will never be 100% the same.

Only now is the healing process complete…whew!!!

As I tell all my athletes….“Just because you no longer hurt after a session with me, you are STILL not 100%”

Are You Taking Better of Your Car, than You Own Body?

Posted on by drockefeller

Is the car you’re driving right now as old as you are?  Unless you happen to be a classic car collector, your answer is probably no. When our cars stop performing or no longer are pleasing to us, we just trade them in and get a better or newer model. Right?

Unfortunately, the body you’re born with is the body you’re stuck with for the most part. You can’t just trade it in for a newer model. So,why do so many of us take better care of our cars than the flesh-and-blood vehicles we have to get through life in.  I’m not advocating that you stop taking care of your car, just hoping my list of comparable health maintenance becomes a priority too. Consider the items below your Body’s Owner’s Manual.

For several decades now, diet and exercise have been acknowledged as a relevant and effective treatment for a number of medical conditions. Evidence is emerging that physical exercise is as effective, and sometimes more effective, than pharmacological and orthopedic treatment for muscle and joint diseases. Now, integrated manual therapy is widely being recognized as a key component by preventing your joints form wear and tear. Preventative healthcare….what a terrific idea!!!

Just like our cars need adjustments from time to time, so does your body.

Get Your Oil Changed and Go In for Regular Tune-Ups:  Routine maintenance keeps your car running smoothly and is a worthwhile investment. Treat your health the same way. Regular sessions of integrated manual therapy are important and as necessary as diet and exercise.  Routine sessions allow me to check for signs of imbalance, often before you notice symptoms. These “body screenings” can help you stop an injury in its tracks, get an early treatment, improve your outcome and keep your future pain free.  “Prevention is better than cure”.

Know Your Levels:  You make sure your tires are full of air, that your oil isn’t low, and that all your lights are functional don’t you?  Well, do the same for your body by paying attention to important body signals.  Our bodies are built with alarms, too. When you don’t feel right, it’s your bodies’ dashboards telling you that something is wrong. Pay attention! Why do you wait until you find yourself on the equivalent of a highway shoulder?  If you’re feeling a little off, you might want to take some healthy corrective steps by scheduling a session with your manual therapist, just as you might top off your fluid levels.

Take It to the Shop When There’s Something Wrong:  Granted, your body doesn’t have a “check engine” light, but as its keeper, you know when you don’t feel quite right. If your car is making a funny noise, you take it in. Why not do the same for yourself?   When you aren’t feeling quite right, make an appointment and get treated right away before this imbalance turns into a bigger problem like “Tennis Elbow” or Plantar Fasciitis. Don’t ignore that “popping” in your shoulder!

Statistics say that 83% of cars owners visit a garage regularly to keep on top of vehicle servicing and maintenance, while only 17% of people regularly visit a healthcare professional for check-ups – with almost half (48%) admitting they only visit a healthcare professional when they have a problem.

Here’s another statistic for you…Preventing both car and health problems are eight times cheaper than fixing them.  Stop ignoring yourself and take of your your most VALUABLE asset in life…YOU!

Sports Car

What to Do After Myofascial Decompression

Posted on by drockefeller

The most common misunderstanding regarding after effects of Myofascial Decompression (MFD), is the marks that sometimes result. When injuries occur deep in the muscle, bleeding often occurs causing what looks like deep bruises.

The vacuum formed by this technique draws up the old non-circulating stagnant blood, proteins and sticky fluids from the area, bringing them up to the surface and away from the injury so that healthy free circulation can be restored to the affected area, thus making space for oxygen, living cells and nutrients for faster recovery. Where there is dead, static blood, lymph, cellular debris, pathogenic factors, and toxins present in the body, MFD can leave marks which indicates that the stagnation or disease has been moved from the deeper tissue layers to the surface, where it can be flushed out easier.

Olympic Swimmer
Chemicals used in pools that athletes train and compete in for many hours are toxic. MFD draws these out of the body which otherwise would remain. Many athletes rely on MFD on a regular basis to detoxify and enhance performance.

After your treatment, it is not uncommon to experience sore skin and what looks like bruising. This is both an expected and normal effect of the session. The color and pattern of the marks depend on the level of stagnation in the area. If marks do appear, they can range from a bright red to dark purple, usually lasting 3 days to a week – sometimes longer if the person is very sick or sedentary.

While the marks look painful, they aren’t. If there is no stagnation present, there will be only a light pink mark which disappears in a few minutes to a couple of hours. Sites where there is old trauma or injury may require multiple cupping treatments to remove all stagnation. You will find in follow-up treatments that the marks will be visibly lighter as the pathogens are systemically removed from the body.

Remember, drink plenty of water following your treatment to help  keep your muscles hydrated.  This will help expedite your recovery process after MFD.

Avoid the following for 24 hours after your MFD session:

  • Excessive and/or Heavy Exercise
  • Hot Tubs
  • Saunas
  • Steam Rooms
  • Extreme Cold and AC
  • Icing of area
  • Sunbathing
  • Heavy Meals

Shoulder Injuries: Why does my shoulder hurt?

Posted on by drockefeller

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1.2 million people in the United States visited an emergency room in 2010 for shoulder problems.  Since it’s the most movable joint in our body, your shoulder is also one of the most potentially unstable joints. As a result, it is the site of many common problems. They include sprains, strains, dislocations, separations, tendinitis, bursitis, torn rotator cuffs, frozen shoulder, fractures, and arthritis.

Let’s Take a look at it’s structure….Shoulder Structure

…to better understand it helps to begin with an explanation of the shoulder’s structure and how it functions.

The shoulder joint is composed of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone). Two joints facilitate shoulder movement. These bones of our shoulders articulate to form not one, but four joints.  The acromioclavicular (or most commonly referred to as the AC), the glenohumeral joint, commonly called the shoulder ball-and-socket joint), the Sternoclavicular joint (the joint formed between the Sternum and Clavicle, and the Scapulothoracic joint (a pseudo-joint that describes the relationship between the scapula and the posterior thorax).  The capsule is a soft tissue envelope that encircles the glenohumeral joint. It is lined by a thin, smooth synovial membrane.

Ok, as I am always telling my clients…” our bones are merely slaves to our muscles.” Meaning that our muscles tell our bones how to move.  Our shoulders can flex, extend, abduct, adduct, externally rotate, and internally rotate. While it is often described independently, these movements of our shoulder do not occur in isolation.  Rather, each movement of our shoulder is inextricably linked to movements of the other shoulder complex joints and muscles.  Therefore, it is important to understand its context in the entire shoulder complex.  There is no exact point where one motion begins and another ends.

For example, when you flex your right arm, a small amount of humeral external rotation and abduction will also occur naturally, along with some scapular rotation, sternoclavicular joint elevation, and acromioclavicular joint rotation.  

Our shoulder is easily injured because the ball of the upper arm is larger than the shoulder socket that holds it. To remain stable, the shoulder must be anchored by its muscles, tendons, and ligaments in many other areas.  So now you know why your shoulder pain may be localized or may be felt in areas around the shoulder or down the arm.

The assessment of shoulder pain depends on the underlying cause. So next time when you ask…”why does my shoulder hurt?” Consider the possible causes.  You might experience soreness after activities such as painting, lifting or playing a sport, which require you to lift your arms.  Yes, shoulder joint injuries can be head-scratchers. However, proper assessment and movement tests to determine specific pain can narrow it down to specific injury issues.

IMT: After Session Recovery

Posted on by drockefeller
Athlete-Running

Recovery is a critical component of any successful training ,as well as after your session at Dominion Therapeutic and Sports Massage.  Recovery is also the least thought of and underutilized way to enhance Integrated Muscle Therapy.  No matter what your injury or sport, your recovery is dependent upon your body healing yourself.  Whether your injury is a tear or strain or sprain or inflammation or improving range of motion for performance enhancement, your soft tissue is repaired by your own body – no exception.  Although discomfort is gone after a session, that doesn’t mean your body has fully recovered.

Sometimes there is no choice, sometimes people just don’t know any better.  That is why I am constantly trying to enlighten my clients’ awareness about aftercare.

Critical components of recovery include:

  • Body Awareness
  • Rest
  • Hydration
  • Nutrition
  • Pre & Post Stretching
  • Self-Myofascial Release
  • Stress Management

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PAY ATTENTION:  You may be sore after the session. This is normal with Integrated Muscle Therapy.  Sometimes you may not feel the soreness until the next day (DOMS-Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). Why? Integrated muscle therapy is a sort of passive exercise. If you are not one to get soft tissue therapy often, or do not exercise and are not used to using the muscles, then they may respond with soreness after a session at Dominion Therapeutic and Sports Massage. This should only last for a day or perhaps two. You can help prevent DOMS by stretching before you arrive for your session. Remember anything that was particularly painful and report this at your next session.

Delayed onset muscle soreness is common after exercise, training and Integrated Muscle Therapy and usually means your muscles are getting stronger.

REST: Most easily defined as a combination of sleep and time spent NOT training, rest is the easiest to understand and implement. How you sleep and spend this time is very critical. Adequate levels of rest help to provide mental health, hormonal balance, and muscular recovery. Everyone has individual needs based on their lifestyle, workouts, and genetic makeup. However, most athletes need between 7-10 hours.

Water glass

HYDRATION: Drinking adequate water amounts is critical to health, energy, recovery, and performance. Athletes tend to be very attentive to hydration levels close to and during competitions, but keeping that awareness during recovery times can make just as large an impact. Water helps all of our functions

A simples way to check your body’s hydration is to look at your pee. If it is clear to pale yellow you are hydrated. The darker and more color in your pee the less hydrated you are and more water you need to drink.

NUTRITION: Everything you eat has the ability to help heal your body, or to poison it. This may sound strong, but alcohol and processed foods contain toxins and are harmful to the body. I do not like to recommend a specific diet, but eating clean and balanced meals in moderation is proven to be effective to remain healthy and increase performance. My personal rule of thumb is if you have a difficult time pronouncing it, then your body will probably have a hard time processing it!

Yes, we all go out to dinner and most social events we attend have food. The key is balance and moderation. You can get the results you want AND function as a normal person and enjoy life.

I defer nutritional advice to the experts…like my good friend Tim DiFrancesco, PT, DPT, ATC, CSCS.  Tim is the Head Strength Coach for the Lakers and President of TD Athletes Edge. 

POSTURE: It’s one of the least focused components of integrated muscle therapy recovery.  Time is spent lengthening tight restrictive muscles so that your over-stretched and inhibited muscles can be put back in their resting state for recovery.  After sessions, time sitting, driving and using your electronic devices (computers, phones and tablets) put your body back into the positions that made it unbalanced or injured in the first place. Be aware of your posture in work place and home.

Tips: Find a chair that is ergonomically correct (like my yoga ball chair). Take breaks in your work day and move often. If you struggle to sit upright use a foam roller or ball in your back to give you a tactile cue and help force good posture.Don’t lean to one side or on an object for support while standing or driving.

STRETCHING: You need proper range of motion in your joints and flexibility to move well and remain pain free. Include dynamic stretching in your warm-ups, while saving static stretching for after your workouts. Use the Therabands, stretch ropes, stretches and exercises I’ve given you post session. Attempt to self-identify tight areas and work on them. I’m only a email or text away if want new variations. Look through link articles I’ve posted, attend a yoga class, or check out Kelly Starett’s Mobility WOD.

SELF MYOFASCIAL RELEASE: Self-myofascial release is critical to session aftercare. This method can be performed with a foam roller, lacrosse ball, Theracane, or your own hands. By applying pressure to specific points on your body, you are able to aid in the recovery of your muscles and assist in enhancing your session outcome.

STRESS MANAGEMENT: Your goal is to prioritize life and maximize performance without sacrificing quality. Kick back, relax, and enjoy an evening out with friends. Order that favorite beer and get those BBQ ribs once in a while. They may mentally benefit you way more than another night of broccoli and chicken. Life for an athlete can grow tiresome. Give yourself a day off now and then.

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We have different systems in our bodies that need to recover. These include hormonal, neurological, and structural. In our structural system we have muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Muscles recover the quickest because they receive direct blood flow. Tendons, ligaments, and bones receive indirect blood flow and therefore can take longer to recover and be more susceptible to overtraining stress.

A balanced recovery and exercise/training routine should be a part of any fitness regimen. Unless you are competing at an elite level, you should generally follow the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of your time can be spent focusing on diet and exercise, while twenty percent on enjoying life. In other words, don’t let yourself get too wrapped up in perfection!

Cheers and Happy Holidays!!!

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